The world lies with those who bear to change it,
Yet those whom bear idle lie with nothing.
A fool’s young a wise man is old,
Neither bear gold.
Gold doesn’t have to bear glitter,
Silver doesn’t have to sparkle,
But kindness always shines through.

I awoke in the desert
At night, with starlight
Illuminating the white sand.
There were sharp mountains
In the distance, with flashing lights
And beams that searched
All around me.
I crawled to hide behind a
Gnarled shrub that snarled
At me and caught my clothes.
And at last I fell asleep.
But woke to the same
Sand, white as bones,
But now, black-clad ghosts
Float past me, weaving
In and out of each other,
Their robes fluttering
In the hot wind and dust.
The only humans I see
are children,
Who scamper and smile.
Though they seem to be alone
And poor, they have their toys:
Pots and pans, old sticks and a doll’s leg,
Blackened at the  joint.
Perhaps children in some other place
Play with the rest of it, content.
But I notice that they are looking,
Always looking for something.
ماء! نريد الماء!
Ma'! nurid alma'a!
I want to answer
But cannot.
I don’t know what they mean.

Die from mortal wounds
Or die from starvation

Die the death of debt

Which doctor
Is not a witch doctor?
Surgery on your security
Held at knifepoint,
Savor the scalpel of rich robbers

The nurse
Is a curse
To your purse

Drown in blood
Or drown in bills

The Hypocritical Oath prevails

Dread the eruption of poor patience.

For every poem you write about rich,
write ten more,
each about poor.

For every song you sing about rich,
sing one hundred more,
each about poor.

For every story you tell about rich,
tell one thousand more,
each about poor.

Poor lad lay there blight weak worse
Rough rag spreads on hope or curse
Kind hearts frail to fill his gut
Gold and cents ring from rich purse.

When you are sad,
   you choose to be happy.
When you are poor,
   you choose to be rich.
When you are weak,
   you choose to be strong.
When you are friendless,
   you choose unseen spirits.

When you are not,
   you have no choice but choose.
Any fool can choose,
   and only the strong can fight.
But only the brave and wise,
   surrender and not live a lie.
And when you are dead,
   you cannot choose life.

Only her scarce trust
She saves and is stingy with
Freely spending time